The Arctic: Environmental Security or Multi-Level Governance?

This chapter argues that the conditions are favorable for adaptive and peaceful management of the Arctic: a dynamic governance framework is already in place, and inter-state jurisdictional rivalry is modest. Globally applicable regimes like those based on the Law of the Sea Convention offer most of the support for Arctic environmental security but regional institutions too can play important roles in strengthening substantive regulations and enhancing their implementation, not least by influencing other institutions. Wider involvement of non-Arctic states in the Arctic Council would expand the set of states and actors with knowledge about and ownership in its assessments and recommendations, thereby enhancing the Council’s ability to act as a catalyst for regulatory advances in broader institutions with relevant competence.